Industry experts discuss the decisions behind labelling

15th September 2014 - Fine Cut

A so-called "battle of decoration technologies" was the subject of choice at a recent labelling sector conference, with experts trading their views on opportunities and difficulties within the industry.

FINAT - the body that represents self adhesive and adjacent product manufacturers - held the event with the aim of offering its members valuable insight into how communication can be improved between suppliers and brand owners.

Delegates were able to question a panel of business leaders from a range of backgrounds within the labelling market, from shrink sleeve converting and applying to advanced label application systems, foodprocessing.com.au reports.

One of the issues that came under the spotlight was with regards to the changing demands of the end-user, with legislative needs and promotional requirements among the reasons why brand labels seem to be increasing in size.

Geert-Jan Kolkhuis Tanke, who appeared on the three-person panel, said the pharmaceutical industry had adapted to this challenge via the introduction of 'leaflet labels', or the process of "applying labels to labels".

The need for more information to be produced on a label has also impacted on shrink sleeve variants, according to another member of the panel Raul Matos. Mr Matos highlighted how QR codes "need to be placed on an area of low shrink", which requires the involvement of the whole supply chain - starting with the designer - to create an effective sleeve.

In the future, the experts agreed that there would be an increasing prevalence of 'smart labels', which would result in greater efficiency, faster production speeds and the significant augmentation of label functionality.

Additionally, it is expected that consumers will push a trend towards a rise in the use of self-adhesive labels, while brand owners would rely on a variety of technologies to create and apply them, with the third member of the panel - Stefan Richter - predicting the labelling and packaging sectors would continue to "merge together more and more".